Study Guide

Parashat Kedoshim (Lev.19:1-20:27)

Portion Overview

Parashat Kedoshim is part of the "holiness code." It discusses the things, both ritual and ethical, the people must do to be a holy people. The book in which it appears, Vayyikra, or Leviticus, was once know as "The Law of the Priests." Is it ironic, or is it by design, many of the observances included here are addressed to the whole people. As you study the portions of Vayyikra, try to determine which are for the priests and which for the whole people.

Main Concept - Holiness

Holy -separate, set aside. A holy object is one that is set aside for a special purpose, ritual or religious. Israel is not to be like other nations. It is to be a "holy nation."

Holiness always demands some level of separation from society - from the profane. In a world where people are ruled by their desires and cruder instincts, to be holy is to separate oneself from all of that. The Torah does not consider being just like everyone else to be desirable. No matter how modern we consider ourselves, the call to be Israel (one who struggles with God) demands that we hold at least part of ourselves separate. Even if, for instance, we as modern Jews, value our ability to be like everyone else, even if we value our ability to exist and move in the larger society with ease, even if we consider our Jewish ethics to be the source of what most makes us Jewish, we must hold those ethics separate from the larger society or they lose their ability to be prophetic. Just like the prophets we must dare to be different. If our ethics are all for show, or if they are merely reflective of the larger society, the cease being Jewish values, and we become Jewish in name only.

Questions to Discuss

Kedoshim opens with God's commandment to the congregation of the children of Israel: "You shall be holy; for I the Lord am holy."

What does it mean to "be holy"?
Since the command appears in a section full of ritual commands, is it reffering to ritual practice?
Is the commandment practical or rhetorical? or something else?
Is it realistic to expect a human being to "be holy as I (God) am holy?" Why or why not?
Does the answer even matter?

The Sifra, a 4th century document on Leviticus, interprets the words kedoshim tiheyu (you shall be holy) as perushim tiheyu (you shall be separate). (A Torah Commentary for Our Times, Harvey J. Fields, Vol 2, pg 132, UAHC Press.)

Could we read the call to holiness this way: "You shall be separate for I the Lord am separate"?
What is the meaning of separate?
Does it reflect at all on the Jewish concept of holiness?
According to tradition, is holiness for Jews the same as holiness for gentiles?
What could be the purpose in separation?

What does holiness mean for Jews today? What does separation mean?

Do the different movements in Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist) view separation differently.
Which do you agree with? Why?
How should the concept of separation, as we discussed it, play a role in our lives as Jews today?

For Further Study and Discussion

Consider the following:

Our masters taught: "Neither shall you defile yourselves, for you will become even more defiled thereby" (Lev. 11:43). When a person defiles him/herself by ever so little, they will be judged greatly defiled. If they defile themselves here below, they will be judged defiled up above. If they become defiled in this world, they will be judged defiled in the world-to-come.
"Make yourselves holy therefore, and be holy" (Lev. 11:44). When a person reaches out by ever so little for holiness, they will be judged most holy. If they reach out for holiness here below, they will be judged holy up above. If they reach out for holiness in this world, they will be judged holy in the world-to-come. (B. Yoma 39a)
It was said of R Yochannan ben Zakki that no one ever greeted him first, not even a gentile in the marketplace.
Are these statements contradictory, or do they reflect a balanced view?

In light of recent events in Kosovo, Colorado and the Middle East, can separation be destructive? How does it become so?

What is the effect of enforcing separation on individuals, groups, ourselves.
How can viewing oneself as an eternal victim lead to tragedies as mentioned here?
We often view being at the extreme of an issue to be undesirable. Why?
Is there a balance we can strike between separation and total assimilation? Where is it?
Did R Yochannan ben Zakki find it?